Whose Bride Is She Anyway (26 page)

Henry smiled sympathetically. “So you were going to say no to marrying her?”

August nodded and continued, “I thought I’d escaped when Aaron was picked, but then his brother … well, anyway—when I thought about it last night, I just felt in my heart there was something so wrong in marrying her. Sort of like this distance I couldn’t bridge with Kelsey, you know? And now I know
who
that bridge was …
George
. “ August shuddered for effect. God, that was beautiful if he did say so himself.

Henry masked the fleeting anxious glimpse he gave August and smiled once more. His tone held understanding, “Look, August, we’re going to make it up to you. I would never have guessed this would happen. We’ve never had
anyone
not choose to marry the girl. I know you were thrown into this by default because of Aaron’s brother, but Kelsey certainly never let on that she
wasn’t
interested in you. If you look at all of that video footage of the two of you on your dates she appeared rather besotted. I’m just sorry you were made to participate in it. But you know… the contract and all. Oh, to have the vision of hindsight. I only know that we will make every effort to find out who put that tape in there. It was
utterly
disgusting. ” Henry shook his head sadly. “How about a vacation on us? Anywhere in the world you want to go.”

August sighed. Long and suffering—because he needed to play this right. “Can a vacation make up for losing the woman of my dreams—then finding out she’s a— well…” August sighed again. “I think not, Henry. ”

Oh, August! he chided himself, you are disgraceful. This is just a bit much, don’t you think? But still, it was kinda fun…

Henry nodded his head in understanding. “We’ll think of something. I promise you. The whole damn season is a waste now. I don’t know what we’ll do. Although Kelsey’s contract allows for
all disclosure
…”

August watched the slick wheels of Henry’s mind turn and left it at that. “Thanks, Henry I realize you have no control over such … such…” August cringed again for effect, “such blatant disregard for the rules of the game. I had no idea this was going on. ”

“None of us did. Surely, had we known, Kelsey would have been sent packing and so would George. Apparently it was all about the money. ”

August exhaled, long and deep, keeping his head hung low to hide the gleam in his eyes and his relief that he and Tara hadn’t been caught … yet, anyway. “Money can’t buy you love … I think I’m going to go lay down if you don’t mind. I don’t feel so well. ”

Henry’s look was filled with concern. “Of course. It’s been a trying day for you. Tomorrow this won’t seem as awful as it does tonight. Can I get you anything before you go?”

August shook his head slowly, “No, thank you. I’d just like to go now. ”

Henry gave him one last thump on the back and August ducked out the back door as quickly as possible just as Henry located the elusive cameraman, George. Kelsey sat in a corner alone, tears of fury coursing down her cheeks, leaving big splotches of mascara on her bridal white lap.

Naaa-na-naaaa Naaa-na-naaaa Naaa-na-naaaa!
(Work with me) Hear the Charlie’s Angels theme song?

A
ugust ran a finger around the neck of his bowtie, loosening the tight knot. He tore it off and threw it on the bathroom sink.

“Mr. Guthrie, I’d like an explanation, ” Tara’s voice, smooth as silk, pricked his ears.

“Ms. Douglas, how did you get in here?” He smiled at her reflection in the mirror.

She sauntered over to stand behind him, and the sleek sway of her hips in that black dress gave his cock reason to stand up and cheer. “As jury foreman, I believe it’s my duty to console the poor, grieving groom. ”

Tara slipped her arms under his and kneaded his chest.

“Yes, it’s such a tragedy. I don’t know if I can be consoled.” His mock suffering made even him la ugh. Tara’s fingers drifted to his swelling cock, rubbing it with the heel of her hand.

“There will be no consolation until you tell me what the hell
that
was all about back at the chapel.” Turning, she unzipped her dress and shimmied out of it. “However, I think a real pity party is headed your way, courtesy of me, if you give it up.”

Tara threw the dress at him and wandered naked into the bedroom.

August followed close behind, peeling his clothes off. He grabbed her by the waist and nuzzled her neck. “Well, last night, I went to talk to Vinny after I left you. I made him an offer to help pay off his gambling debts if he’d just gamble this one last time that Kelsey would pick me. So he gave me the pictures and whatever else I could wrangle out of him. Then I went to find George, who was conveniently absent.” Cupping her breasts, he grazed the soft underside of them.

Tara turned in his arms and wrapped her own around his neck, kissing his jaw in soft nips. His cock brushed her belly, straining toward the silk of her skin. “An offer? What kind of an offer would you make him? He’s slime, August.”

August slipped his fingers into the warmth of her pussy, fondling her slowly. She purred in response. “Yeah, but he’s also desperate and in order to make sure he didn’t show those pictures of us to the producers, I was going to give him the money to clear up his debts.”

Tara’s face held disbelief as did her tone. “August Guthrie! Are you insane? How much does he owe? And … and…” her face took on a softer look. “You would do that for me?”

August pressed his lips to hers, lingering gently on the soft surface. When he pulled away he looked her square in the eye and said, “Well, yeah, silly woman. And Vinny owes a lot too, just in case you doubted my sincerity. ”

Tara kissed him back, hugging him closer to her. “Thank you, but I can’t let you do that. If Vinny went to the producers I’d just deal with it. Now I guess neither of you have to worry. But I think Kelsey and George might.”

“I don’t have to
give
the money to Vinny, honey. He’s going to come and work for me, in an office I want to open in California. He’ll
earn
back the money he borrows from me. Believe me, he was more than willing to find somewhere safe to keep hiding from his bookies.” He nuzzled her neck and nipped at her ear.

“Still, what does that have to do with what happened tonight?” Tara wondered aloud as she wrapped her hands over his cock and stroked him.

“I have no clue. I only know Vinny said okay to my offer and we were square. I couldn’t find George and I sure as hell wasn’t looking for Kelsey. As the ‘wedding’ drew closer I just prayed George would keep his mouth shut. I was gonna do my part and dump Kelsey at the altar and deal with the fallout later. The press usually harasses only the last two men left, but if I said no to Kelsey, Vinny was pretty much home free. The press would be too busy looking into why I said no to a million bucks. I didn’t figure it would be easy, but I know what the truth is and that was all that mattered. I’d have found a place for us to be in peace somehow. I just kept telling myself that eventually a new season would start and they’d forget about us.”

A sharp rap on the door had them both whipping around guiltily as Tara shot August a look of fear before scrambling as fast as she could back to the bathroom. August put his finger to his lips as he followed her, grabbing his shirt and pants he threw them on, hurrying to open the door.

“Ms. Mary? ” August said, surprised and hopefully keeping the thread of guilt out of his voice. “Are you okay? Do you need something? Is everything all right with the grandbaby? ” Ms. Mary’s face was unreadable as she pushed her way past August and peered inside the room.

August felt it. She
knew
… they were still fucked.

Ms. Mary cackled a sharp laugh as she followed close behind him. Her grey eyes twinkled. “Yeah, everything’s fine. That’s not why I’m here. I have a little something to tell you. So tell Tara to come out from wherever she’s hiding and get her butt out here too.”

August waffled, shuffling his feet and scratching his head, he avoided Ms. Mary’s eyes. “I have no clue what you mean. Tara isn’t here. I haven’t seen her since I left the chapel. Why would I see her? I mean she’s a juror and that’s against the rules, we could be sued for that. I can’t afford to be sued. It costs a lot of money and I have a business— with employees and…”

“ Tell Tara to come out here and stop dilly dallying. I have to get back before Henry has a nervous breakdown. ”

Tara poked her head around the corner of the closet door. She’d thrown on one of August’s shirts and was looking down at her feet. “Um, Ms. Mary? First, I want to apologize and tell you that August didn’t do anything wrong. I made him … well, I didn’t exactly
make
him, I—well, I just—we just sort of…”

Ms. Mary held up her hand and Tara bit her lower lip, waiting for the axe to fall.

August came to stand beside her. “Look, I’ll take complete responsibility for this. Tara tried to talk me out of it, but I wouldn’t quit chasing after her. So go ahead and tell whomever you like, Ms. Mary. I’m in love with Tara and I don’t care who knows it.”

August thrust his jaw out and wrapped his arm around Tara.

“Oh, I’m not going to tell anybody anything,” Ms. Mary assured them. “That diva got what she deserved in spades. I
am
going to tell you that I’m the one who put that video tape in there and why and then I’m going to let you get back to what you two seem to do best.”

“What!?” Tara and August shouted in unison.

Ms. Mary shuffled to the bedside chair and eyed them both. Folding her hands she smiled cattily. “Kelsey Little is responsible for the death of my Josiah. I can’t prove it, but I sure as hell wanted to see her pay for it.”

Tara went to Ms. Mary’s side and held her hand with a frown. “I don’t get what you mean. Kelsey hurt Josiah? How?”

Ms. Mary shook her head, a forlorn smile curling the edges of her mouth. “She didn’t
physically
hurt him, she swindled him out of money at that ad agency she works for with her cute act. As a result, the stress of losing so much money killed Josiah. ”

Tara rubbed Ms. Mary’s hand. “I don’t understand. I thought Josiah worked in pharmaceuticals?”

“He did and he wanted to start a campaign to boost sales for our family-owned pharmacy. So the boys would have something when we were gone. It was a small-town place and the bigger corporations were taking over. Josiah thought it was a wise business decision. I thought he was cracked and I was right! I just wanted to retire and live in peace. Do the grandmother thing, you know? But he wouldn’t let it go and then he met Kelsey…” Mary smirked and gave a snort. “We lost some of our retirement fund so she could have breast implants… Her plastic surgeon prescribes drugs from our store. When I saw her name on the prescription, I just knew where our money went. So I hooked up on the internet and did a little hacking into her accounts… And that’s all I’ll say. Josiah became so ill because we couldn’t really prove where the money went. Josiah trusted far too easily and well, it’s complicated—how Kelsey got her hands on our money, but … it pissed me off when I figured it all out!” Ms. Mary’s face turned hard. “I won’t go into the details, suffice it to say, nobody messes with my Josiah. In life or death. When Kelsey tried out for the show, it was just sheer luck that I happen to be a big fan of ‘Whose Bride Is She Anyway?’ and saw her face plastered all over that website… So I tried out for the jury and they picked me. I was only going to let her know
who
I was and watch her squirm because I knew all of her secrets. She never even batted an eye when she heard my last name. What kind of a woman steals an old fool’s money and doesn’t remember his last name?”

Tara and August looked at one another with complete understanding as August put a consoling hand on Ms. Mary’s shoulder. “I’m sorry, Ms. Mary. Kelsey isn’t the woman I thought she would be. I should have never come on this show. But I can’t regret it because I met Tara and I wouldn’t change that.”

Tara smiled up at him and he winked at her.

Ms. Mary cackled again. “Hah! Do you know why I came here tonight to see you two?”

They shook their heads no in unison while Tara visibly gulped.

“Because I’m a real Charlie’s Angel… I’m a plant!” Mary clapped her hands and laughed loudly as she watched both Tara and August’s faces. “The producers sent me in to be a spy. Guess they figured nobody would suspect an old lady. So they gave me one of those fancy little spy-cams and sent me on late-night excursions to spy on the contestants and Kelsey. I’m whooped from all the shenanigans going on around here. Can’t say I was too upset over you two hooking up, either. Not one bit. Kelsey deserved what she got from you, Tara. Guess she was just as ornery back in high school, huh? ”

“You know about what Kelsey did to me?” Tara asked astonished.

Mary winked. “I know everything, kiddo. I’ve had access to things the rest of you haven’t on this island. Like the internet—all under the guise of being a plant. I found a friend or two of Kelsey’s who were pretty snockered over not being picked as jury foreman. They spilled the dirt on what she did to you, Tara and I spilled it to George last night because I knew what he and Kelsey were doing and I knew he’d want to impress Henry. He’s a suck up and Henry loves controversy. I also needed to buy time to put that damn tape in the machine, you know. So it would be ready for today’s wedding. I knew George would never have the chance to show the tape he’d made of the two of you because I’d get it first. He’s stupid enough to leave that camera lying around every night, so I snatched it. Who would suspect me anyway? I am, after all, the one who gave him the dirt on you, Tara.”

Tara gripped August’s hand and looked down at her feet.

Ms. Mary gave Tara a sympathetic smile. “I’m sorry I let him barge in on the two of you like that at the cove, and I’m just sorry you had to find out about what happened to Tara that way, August. It was Tara’s story to tell you, but I had to keep you two out of trouble somehow. ”

Tara’s face became slack with disbelief as it all sunk in. “You told George? You have the tape of August and me?”

Mary patted Tara’s hand. “Yep. It’s destroyed. It’ll never see the light of day and yes, I told George about the locker room, Tara. I told you I had to find a way to get him away from that damn chapel long enough to get the tape in there. The
wrong
tape. Kelsey was only yanking George’s crank anyway. She didn’t care who she married. Though, I’m sure she would have preferred August over Vinny. She just wanted the money and she wanted George to help her make connections in Hollywood.”

Mary smiled. “And don’t you worry about George telling anyone about you and Kelsey, Tara. I think the press will have bigger plans for him now that he’s been caught breaking the show’s strict hands-off-the-players rule, but he’s got to adhere to a strict confidentiality clause too. He’s in deep enough as it is. I can’t make any promises about some of those girls you went to high school with, though. You two better lay low for awhile just to be safe, though I’d sure like to see Kelsey’s face when she finds out August ended up with you, my girl!”

August’s mind raced as he began to put it all together while Tara didn’t move a muscle, remaining motionless. He was the first to speak, and his voice was rough on its way out. “I think I speak for Tara, as well as myself when I say you go ahead and do what you have to do for the show, Ms. Mary. You can tell them all about us if they make you because of the contract. I still don’t regret it.” August’s jaw twitched.

Ms. Mary chuckled softly. “After everything I just told you, do you really think I give a darn that Tara stole you right out from under Kelsey’s stuck-up nose? I can tell you I sure as heck didn’t think I’d ever catch her with George, but I got lucky and caught them red-handed! I’m not giving you two up and if George ever leaks a word of this thing between you, I’ll deny I ever saw a thing and I’m just the person to do that. The girls I contacted from your old high school think I’m a reporter from a made-up paper. I’ve tied up all of my loose ends,” she said smugly.

“But wait,” Tara interjected, holding her hand up. “How can the show possibly be happy about all of this controversy? It’s going to look really bad isn’t it?”

Ms. Mary just smiled slyly. “Economics, kiddo. They don’t have to pay out the money if no one marries Kelsey, now do they? I saw Henry acting all sympathetic with you, August, but he knew all along something was going to happen. He just didn’t know
what
. Henry told me to keep it to myself and I did. I told him I had something big and that was all. Henry was as surprised as you were, even if he did know I had
something
on Kelsey. ”

August expelled a gust of air and smiled wryly. “So you were the one who gave Kelsey that rash weren’t you? And the runs?”

Tara shook her head in disbelief. “Ms. Mary,
you
gave Kelsey that rash? I can’t believe the producers would let you do something like that.”

August nodded, “And the shoe incident too?”

“Hey, I’m no dummy. I took some liberties with my spy status and I’m not ashamed to say I did. The producers didn’t need to know about it … I got a hold of Kelsey’s application and found out she’s allergic to Niacinimide. Better known as B-3, a vitamin you can get in any
pharmacy
. I crushed it up and put it in her fruit drink. Instant rash, ” Mary snickered. “I would never do something to harm her forever, but I wouldn’t be a good Christian woman if I didn’t admit I thought about it. Good thing this ended when it did. I was going to turn her hair green next.